Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Erin - here: A few weeks ago - okay maybe more than a few, we know we have been bad, bad bloggers -I shared a few of the treasure bags I have made, well today we will add a few more.

This first peyote/gourd stitch bag is in loving memory of Spirit, our UnStrung Aunt Joey's faithful companion for many years. Tucked inside are a few of his feathers. There is a peace about this bag much like the greatly missed cooing of Spirit. This is a purchased pattern, I will do a little more searching for the artist to give proper credit - if you know the artist please let me know.

Another gift for our UnStrung Aunt Joey one of the very few bags I have made that is very simple. I adapted a cross stitch pattern to come up with this running rabbit bag - Unstrung Aunt Joey live at No. 1 Rabbit Run. The back and front are the same, so the rabbit can run in either direction! The only two colors used are the bronze and cream colored seed beads. This bag does have a slide top, so what is inside is a secret!

The last bag for today is another peyote/gourd stitch bag made from a pattern by Barbara Elbe and was my first attempt at making this type of bag. I was immediately hooked!!!! This of course is another gift to our UnStrung Aunt Joey. It took me hours to get the twisted fringe just right. This is one of the very few bags that actually have a plain back - as I got better at making the beaded fabric for the bags I needed a little more of a challenge. Sorry the picture is a little crooked, all the pictures featured today we're taken in UnStrung Aunt Joey's front yard.

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Today I'm going to blog about one of my favorite things to make - treasure bags, aka amulet bags. I've knitted them, crocheted them, made then with peyote/gourd stitch and brick stitch. By far my favorite is peyote/gourd stitch. Most of my bags end up as gifts for our UnStrung Aunt Joey - someone who can truly appreciate the time and effort put into making each and every bag. This first bag is of a moose, I found the bag pattern at about.com beadwork website. The fringe and the necklace have lots and lots of stuff.The picture of this bag was taken in Aunt Joey's fabulous front yard - she built that stone fence all by herself!

The back of the bag is a simple pattern in the black and green. This bag has been featured on Woof Nanny's blog about amulet purses. Take a few moments and poke around her blog - she has lots of fun information and projects to make.

This next bag was also a gift for our UnStrung Aunt Joey. This bag did take me over 6 weeks to make (back in 1999). There are over 30 different colors of beads. I can weave to make the beaded fabric all day long, but oh that twisted fringe did frustrated me!!! This breath taking life-like bead pattern is by Ann W. Paxton. Ms. Paxton's patterns can be found at bead stores or there are lots of sources on the Internet (just search Ann W. Paxton), the website I had book-marked for Ms. Paxton is no longer in service but take a few moments to search - her patterns are true works of art. This bag has the perfect message of JOY on the back.